Lake Minnewashta Preservation Association

Hello Neighbors,

We need your help to maintain Minnewashta Parkway as a neighborhood and not a highway. It is a very pleasant area for walkers, runners, bikers and we need to take steps to ensure it remains a parkway for access to our homes, neighborhoods, parks, beach, arboretum and not a bypass highway for industrial use.

We encourage you to send your concerns to the following Chanhassen representatives. We have provided a draft example of the message you could send. If you like the message, then just simply copy and paste into an email and send to the addresses listed below.

In addition, please support this common cause by attending the October 28, 7 PM City Council will be meeting to discuss plans for the Minnewashta Parkway improvement project. We need your voice to be heard in written form and to attend the meeting.

GBender@ci.chanhassen.mn.us, Engineer for this project

jwedel@ci.chanhassen.mn.us, Chief Engineer

eryan@ci.chanhassen.mn.us, Mayor

SAMPLE MESSAGE TO BE EMAILED:

Dear Chanhassen Mayor and Staff,

SAVE MINNEWASHTA PARKWAY!

We need your help to save our neighborhood. We wish to maintain Minnewashta Parkway as a true parkway serving neighborhoods, walkers, runners, bikers, park visitors, beach visitors and a gateway to the Arboretum. Chanhassen is beginning a process to rebuild Minnewashta Parkway and intends to assess the parkway residents. However, the parkway is designated as a “feeder road” for highway 5 and highway 7 and a high speed bypass between the two highways. Multiple axle dump trucks and other industrial vehicles commonly use Minnewashta Parkway to avoid the stop lights on other roads such as highway 41. It is very wrong to expose a neighborhood and parkway to this kind of exposure. We should not be encouraging the use of Minnewashta Parkway as a thoroughfare for industrial vehicles. It is very puzzling on why residents of Minnewashta Parkway should assessed for the rebuild of a “highway” that has been deteriorated by industrial vehicles. On the other hand, the neighbors in the Minnewashta Parkway area absolutely would support working together for the maintenance and health of a neighborhood parkway. We are entitled to this benefit as residents, tax payers and those that will be assessed. Plus, we are being assessed also for the walk/running/bike path and we support this activity!!

This is also a great opportunity to ensure zero run off to the lake. We need to ensure all street drains are going to holding ponds for runoff control and not to the waterway. Some drains are going to the waterway, for example, drains to the creek and then to Lake Virginia, Minnetonka, Minnehaha Creek, Mississippi, Gulf of Mexico. Now is a good time to protect our water ways. We can do better and be a model for the future.

CHANHASSEN! It is time to do the right thing for the environment and your neighbors!

The City of Chanhassen would like your input on establishing an approved Slow No-Wake Elevation. Through public feedback and cooperation with the Minnesota DNR, the goal is to control erosion and enhance safety at Lake MInnewashta.

We invite you to take the Slow-No Wake feedback survey at http://ci.chanhassen.mn.us/slownowakesurvey

You are Invited – Please Join the Conversation

In the land of 10,000 lakes, the ways we use and share our lakes and rivers impacts you, your neighbors, and your local communities. You are invited to come and talk with local residents, lake associations, anglers, and others interested in enjoying and protecting Minnesota’s lakes and rivers.

Conversations will focus on public access to Minnesota’s lakes and rivers, providing excellent recreational fishing, and stopping the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS).

Come to one of our three August events

We are hosting three events this summer. These gatherings will be different from many other public meetings. There will not be presentations by DNR Staff. The people who come to these events will set the agenda and lead the discussions.

There will be conversations among local residents, lake associations, and anglers focusing on use and protection of our lakes and rivers. We will discuss how local communities can work together better to address shared concerns.

Meeting Times and Locations

Thursday, Aug 1: Alexandria High School, Alexandria

Saturday, Aug 10: Central Lakes College, Brainerd

Thursday, Aug 15: Monticello High School, Monticello

Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. and the events will begin at 10:00 a.m. The events will end no later than 4 p.m. Lunches will be provided at no cost.

• Please pre-register online to help us plan logistics and lunch.
• Share and invite others to join the conversation!

For more information about the events, contact April Rust at april.rust@state.mn.us or 651.259.5706

Events are sponsored by the Minnesota DNR and Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Advisory Committee, to:

1. Bring together local residents, lake associations, and anglers to talk with each other about how public access to and protection of our lakes and rivers impact local communities, and how we can all work together better to provide access and protect our lakes and rivers.
2. Learn what local residents, lake associations, and anglers think needs to be done to address important issues related to angling, public water access and AIS to local communities.

Please come – Set the agenda – Join the conversation

Thanks to the efforts of our volunteer committee and the generosity of our sponsors and our residents, nearly $6,000 was raised as a result of the July 4th festivities in Minnewashta Heights! With the need to contribute $10,000 to Carver County to offset the cost of watercraft inspections, that money is sorely needed.

Special thanks goes to Dawn & Don Berry, Donna Bornhorst, Val & Travis Brasseur, Christy & Steve Brown, Kathy & Jim Dreesen, Margaret Coldwell, John Fabel, Belen Flemming, Cindy & Scott Hanson, Deb & Robyn Hollwedel, Kristin Jackson, Josey & Kevin Johnson, Lynn & Jared Lee, Heather & William Macgowan, Kim & Alex Mortensen, Annie & Eric Paul, Mary & Keith Pickering, Marlys & Benno Gapstur Sands,  Jenny & Tom Shawgo, Courtnay Suter, Brandi & Chad Virgin, Angie Weaver, Sarah & David Wells. Not everyone was pictured below so we apologize to those who were not included.

The LMPA sincerely appreciates your efforts!

With all of the rain we continue to have, the water levels on Lake Minnewashta continue to be very high. While there are currently no restrictions on speed or wake on the lake, if the levels do not drop, a Slow No Wake restriction might be in place early next week. In the meantime, please be considerate of your neighbors and drive slowly and with caution. This is especially important in the channels where shoreline damage is likely.  If you must go fast or if you want to wake surf, please take to the center of the lake whenever possible. Remember that within 100 feet of shore, boating must ALWAYS be done at a slow no wake speed.

Also, please remember that sound travels further over water and that not everyone has the same taste in music. Please keep the volume on your stereo at a reasonable level, especially in the early morning and evening.

There are noise ordinances and boating regulations and sheriff patrols on the lake to enforce them. Count on them being out there today and tonight. Let’s all be good neighbors and enjoy the lake together.